On Monday, March 17, Hulamin, a South African company specialised in producing rolled and extruded aluminium products, reported bearish annual earnings that ended December 31 2024, alleging operational challenges as a primary cause for constraint.
According to Hulamin CEO Meganathan Gounder, operational challenges and persistent pricing pressure in certain streams, such as export can stock and standards, offset the earnings improvement despite robust demand in the local market, particularly for can body.
He said in a statement, "The 2024 financial year began with promise as market conditions showed significant improvement, particularly in the export segments. Demand recovery brought renewed opportunities, although pricing pressures in certain streams, such as export can stock and standards, persisted. Locally, demand remained robust, with strong momentum for Can Body."
Financial and operational performances at a glance
Hulamin reported a 22 per cent Y-o-Y decline in normalised operating profit to R378 million (USD 21 million) despite robust local sales volumes accounting for 55 per cent of the group's total sales of 173,167 tonnes, driven by record can body and plate sales.
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